Global awakening! My Kamen Rider identity has been exposed!

The Kuuga belt, gleaming with a cold, silvery-blue luster, floated in mid-air before Jiang Lan. A faint light flickered within its streamlined patterns, instantly captivating all eyes. The audience outside the light screen erupted in uproar, the screen flooded with comments—"It's that red armored warrior's belt! Jiang Lan is definitely connected to Kuuga!" "No wonder he was able to get close to the Kuroga ruins; they have a long history!" "Why would this belt actively seek him out?" Amidst the discussions, Jiang Lan's fingers slightly curled, a familiar feeling he himself didn't even notice flashing in his eyes, before the image sank into the torrent of his memories.

In his memory, the mysterious barrier at the entrance to the Jiulangyue Ruins was like an invisible fortress, which Jiang Lan could not break through no matter what methods he tried. He looked at the stone gate half-hidden by vines and finally suppressed the desire to explore in his heart. It was not cowardice, but a keen sense of the deadly danger hidden behind the barrier.

When he took out his communicator and dialed Sakurako Sawatari's number, his voice was somewhat somber: "Sakurako, we can't get into the Kurogake Ruins. There's an unknown barrier blocking our way. Could you come to the Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters? I have an important discovery that I need to verify with you."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Lan waited outside the ruins for a while, repeatedly recalling the faint energy fluctuations he felt when he approached the barrier. The sensation was surprisingly similar to the Kuuga belt in front of him.

Before long, Sakurako Sawatari arrived by car. Her smart beige trench coat accentuated her cool and aloof demeanor. Her leather briefcase was bulging, filled with the data she had spent the night compiling on the Kurogake ruins. It included not only word-by-word interpretations of the ancient script and sketches of the ruins' stratigraphic structure, but also her deductions about the rise and fall of the ancient civilization based on fragments of text. Every page was marked with meticulous annotations, showcasing the professional expertise of an archaeologist.

The two had just stopped in the plaza in front of the police station when Jiang Lan, about to mention the strange phenomenon with the belt, saw a familiar figure slowly walking towards them from the street corner. A crisp police uniform accentuated his tall figure, and a meaningful smile played on his lips. It was none other than Detective Ichijo Kaoru, the one who had previously stopped him from entering the ruins at Kurogake. "What a coincidence, we meet again." Ichijo Kaoru's gaze swept over Jiang Lan, finally settling on Sawatari Sakurako, a clear purpose hidden in his eyes.

Jiang Lan held no grudge. Instead, she cheerfully stepped aside to introduce, "Officer Ichijo, this is Dr. Sakurako Sawatari, a top researcher of ancient civilizations and a core member of the scientific expedition to the Kurogaku Ruins." Ichijo Kaoru smiled and nodded, extending her hand, "Dr. Sawatari, I've heard so much about you. I came here specifically for you." The three of them didn't exchange many pleasantries and, led by Ichijo Kaoru, quickly entered the conference hall of the police headquarters.

The lights in the conference hall were dim, and a somber atmosphere filled the air. Ichijo Kaoru took a yellowed videotape from a filing cabinet and put it into an old-fashioned projector. As the beam of light was projected onto the screen, his expression instantly turned extremely solemn: "This is the only footage left by the Kurogaku archaeological team before the accident. In that tragedy, no one survived."

The scene on the screen was initially relatively calm, showing the archaeologists cleaning artifacts in a cave. But the next second, a piercing scream suddenly shattered the silence. The camera shook violently, clearly showing a female team member huddled in a corner, her face deathly pale, her eyes filled with extreme fear, and her mouth uttering heart-wrenching cries for help.

Immediately afterwards, a blurry black shadow flashed across the screen like a ghost, accompanied by a piercing tearing sound of flesh being ripped apart. The camera suddenly dropped, plunging the scene into complete darkness, leaving only scattered gasps that quickly faded into the deathly silence.

Sakurako Sawatari's pretty face instantly drained of color. Her fingers gripped the briefcase handle tightly, her knuckles turning white. Her brows furrowed into a knot, and her voice trembled uncontrollably: "No one survived?" "The entire archaeological team perished on the spot. Only this videotape and some undecipherable fragments remained at the scene." Kaoru Ichijo's voice was low, his eyes filled with an indescribable heaviness. "We suspect this was not an ordinary accident."

This scene caused an uproar among the viewers in Jiang Lan's live stream. The screen was instantly filled with comments: "Hiss—everyone was slaughtered? What kind of monster is that black shadow?!" "The civilization gap on Earth four thousand years ago must be related to these things!" "But why can't we find any monster fossils or human remains? It's like all traces have been completely erased!" "This power is terrifying; it's like a civilization reboot for the entire planet!" Discussions rose and fell, but no one could provide a reasonable explanation, leaving only endless panic and speculation.

Meanwhile, inside the Blue Star Federation's Supreme Command Center for Memory Exploration, the atmosphere was oppressively suffocating. The vast conference room was deathly silent, save for the crisp "tap-tap" of Commander-in-Chief Zhang Qian's fingers tapping on the table, each sound like a blow to everyone's heart.

The horrific scene on the screen was clearly visible, and the archaeologists and physicists present all wore tense expressions, their eyes heavy with determination. "These unknown creatures are extremely aggressive," a white-haired expert said in a trembling voice, "Perhaps the beginning of the collapse of Earth's civilization was the moment when these monsters swept across the globe." Zhang Qian did not speak, but stared at the fleeting black shadow on the screen, his fingers tapping the table more and more rapidly.

The videotape ended, but the silence in the conference hall lingered. Kaoru Ichijo remained silent for a moment, then took the Kuuga belt found deep within the ruins from the evidence bag, gently placed it on the table, and pushed it towards the two men: "The police lack the professional research capabilities for ancient civilizations. This belt may be the key to solving the mystery. I hope you can help crack its secrets—that's why I invited you two to get involved in this case."

Sakurako immediately bent down to examine the belt, her fingertips carefully tracing its patterns, her eyes filled with inquiry. But before the two could delve deeper, a police officer burst through the conference room door, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, and whispered urgently in Kaoru Ichijo's ear, "Officer Ichijo, something's happened! Mysterious creatures have appeared between the city's high-rises, weaving giant spiderwebs. There have already been officers injured or killed!"

Kaoru's expression changed drastically. She immediately instructed Jiang Lan and Sakurako, "You two stay here and study the belt. Be careful." With that, she quickly followed the police officer out of the conference room, their footsteps fading into the distance. Sakurako picked up the belt and examined it closely. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Jiang Lan, look here—" she pointed to a hidden pattern on the inside of the belt. "This is ancient script. It translates to 'power'."